This invention relates to an apparatus for the recovery of mineral nodules, especially manganese nodules from the seafloor.
An ocean mining system is generally comprised of a mining ship, a riser and a collector vehicle adapted to travel on the seafloor. Nodules which exist on or partly burried in the seafloor sediments are gathered by the collector and are transported to the mining ship through the riser. Since the mining operation is conducted at depths of several thousands meters, the collector is one of the most important components in the mining system. Thus, the collector should have a high collecting efficiency and must be able to continuously and effectively operate for a long period of time. Moreover, the collector should not feed muddy sediments to the riser since otherwise the surface of the ocean would be considerably polluted.